


mothers and manticores

by joldiego



Series: critrole scraps [2]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: (and an itty bit of comfort), (and canonical character resurrection), Angst, BIG spoilers for 129, Canonical Character Death, Character Study, Episode: c02e007 Hush, Gen, c2e129
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-20 10:22:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30003423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/joldiego/pseuds/joldiego
Summary: In this moment, Veth stares down these creatures made of flame, the world drowned out and made silent by the blood rushing in her ears.Bizarrely, she thinks of the manticore.(some post ep 129 musings on Veth's mental state. please heed the warnings inside, this was a really heavy ep)
Relationships: Luc Brenatto & Nott | Veth Brenatto, Yeza Brenatto/Nott | Veth Brenatto
Series: critrole scraps [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2120535
Comments: 8
Kudos: 54





	mothers and manticores

**Author's Note:**

> so ep 129 huh ?  
> i definitely didn't immediately think of the time that veth killed a baby monster in front of its mother and then build angst around it  
> that's definitely not what i did
> 
> **WARNINGS: (temporary) death of a child, descriptions of violence (not SUPER graphic, but the matter here is heavy enough that wanted to use the archive warning anyway), general dealings with grief and trauma.**

In this moment, Veth stares down these creatures made of flame, her son still and lifeless at her back, the world drowned out and made silent by the blood rushing in her ears.

Bizarrely, she thinks of the manticore.

The choice hadn’t bothered her at the time, nor had she given it thought as much more than a particularly good battle story after the day itself had passed. After spotting a paralyzed Fjord on the verge of being mauled in what would surely be a fatal slew of attacks, it felt simple. It felt like an obvious ploy to pull the thing’s attention.

It was easy, too. She plunged her sword downward in one brutal hit, the mewling cub gave a single, pitiful waul and fell still, its eyes never to open. Only as the last breath left its body had she realized that its face was humanoid. A bloodied, furred body and barbed tail with the slack face of an infant.

The beast whirled around, either at the sound or on instinct alone, and unleashed an unholy bellow at the sight, fueled by a grief and rage so powerful that it chilled her blood and rattled her bones. The thing descended, scrabbling with its claws, fumbling through a haze of anguish before landing a bite so savage it nearly felled her goblin body in an instant.

Veth thinks of the manticore now, and unleashes an unholy bellow of her own.

Her luck fails her as the cataclysm bolts discharge useless bursts of flame, but her skill does not. Despite the hot tears flooding her eyes and the sweat slicking her hands, each shot lands true. The first of the remaining creatures dissipates with a shudder, while the second flickers and trembles at the hit.

It’s not just a battle against the creatures anymore, but against time. Time to ensure that Caduceus can return Luc’s soul to his body with only a spare moment of safety and a diamond. To ensure that he doesn’t stray to the other side for a second more than he already has. To ensure that Caduceus has enough juice left at the end of this fight that she and her husband do not need to sleep beside their son’s lifeless body tonight. To ensure that Caduceus is alive to cast the damn spell in the first place and that Veth is alive to see him do it.

Caduceus is aflame, his beetles swirling angrily, Jester yowls as she plants her feet into the crackling magma in her haste to rush the elemental, Caleb shields Veth’s body with his own. It feels distant, like she’s watching it all happen from over her own shoulder, blurred gray edges encroaching on the moment of stark clarity she used to fire her crossbow with such precision.

It’s good that the creature falls quickly after that, because Veth will very shortly be little to no help with the way her thoughts are spiraling.

She watches the Wildmother’s fungus envelope Luc, hiding him from sight completely for one terrible moment, and then sifting away in flakes not unlike a thin layer of dried clay, leaving new skin behind. He finally heaves a great breath, like emerging from underwater after much too long a time. _Like mother, like son in the worst ways possible._

Veth holds him, Yeza holds them both. She promises all of the ice cream in the world, sweet and more importantly, _cold._ She cries with them, but for the moment there is still a certain numbness, static through her limbs that buzzes across her skin and leaves a prickling buffer between her and this ghastly reality.

She dreams that night that the baby manticore wore Luc’s face, and she had swung down her short sword nonetheless.

Only then, startling her husband to consciousness with her own choked gasp as she wakes, does she finally shatter. Yeza takes one look at Veth, cheeks wet and lips parted in an effort to force air into spasming lungs, and he pulls her against him, tucking her face into the crook of his neck with a grounding hand at the crown of her head. In his arms, she shakes apart at last, and Luc’s heart beats soundly as he sleeps on between their trembling bodies.

**Author's Note:**

> yall this ep. im. hoo boy.
> 
> lmk if there's anything else I should tag or warn about, I'm always open to feedback if you think I've missed something.
> 
> find me on tumblr [@joldiego](https://joldiego.tumblr.com/), yell at me if you wish
> 
> comments are my double shot of espresso the morning after a night spent writing <3


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